


Cruel Illusions and Desires

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Friendship, Post-Hogwarts, Post-War, Romance, The Quidditch Pitch: Leaving Feast, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-20
Updated: 2007-09-20
Packaged: 2018-10-26 13:16:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10787445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: On the eve of an important anniversary, Ron finds an object that brings back great pain, and immense happiness.





	Cruel Illusions and Desires

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

Surprise and shock pulsed through his veins as he took a left into a familiar door. Is this what he wanted to see, was this what he was thinking?  He thought he was thinking of finding a toilet without having to go up any more stairs as such. But, there she is.

There she is, in the centre of it all. She looked beautiful, trapped in the age he was happiest he had ever been.

_I miss you._

Seeing her like that made him feel an age older than he was, and he was one of the oldest wizards this century. She was sitting on that rocking chair we used to have after she had our first child, Rose, hugging a baby, Hugo, to her chest. Merlin, how he missed her chest.

_I really miss you._

She has that serene sort of smile, as if she knows what you were just thinking. The smile that used to boil his blood, play tricks on his mind, made him want her all the more.

_You look beautiful._

She just keeps on smiling at him, tucks her hair around her shoulder, and hugs Hugo closer to her. He couldn’t help wanting to be with her again, be in her again, be surrounded and encompassed by her again.

Keeping her clothes and perfume around didn’t last. It had been too long. The perfume eventually ran out and buying another bottle just didn’t feel the same. The clothes and books he still kept around him, the long bookshelf on her half of the room, still stacked full of books, and still readily marked for easy indexing.

The clothes still filled his wardrobe: the luscious dresses she barely wore, the easy blouses and casual trousers still hung next to his shirts and trousers. Her dress robes were still entwined with his.

_I honestly can’t tell you how much I want to be with you._

Brief flashes of taking your own life, just to be with her again, filters through his brain, not for the first time. But he pushes them out; he will be with her again, when his time comes.

Her smile falls a bit, and she’s looking stern and he’s even missed that. He misses everything about her, so much that some times is suffocates him. He grips his cane and moved to the comfy arm chair that appeared in front of the mirror. He supposes he should thank the room, getting about was so much harder than it used to be.

Fifteen minutes past, fifteen minutes where he can see his only son and his wife cuddle each other, before he thinks of something to say again

_I’m so lonely without you._

She looks up and over her shoulder to our best friend, who had just walked in from the darkness.

_Hello, Harry._

He gives a cheery wave and puts his hand on Hermione’s shoulder.

_How long have I got left?_

They both look at each other, and then shrug their shoulders.

_I just want to go home, you know? I want to be with you two again._

Hermione eyes are suddenly wet, and Harry’s looking politely away. Ron reaches up to wipe his eyes; he doesn’t know why this place showed him this, but he wishes it never had. It’s made living 100 times harder.

_I love you, you know?_

Her eyes are still leaking, but she mouths “I love you too.”

_Is Hugo happy there?_

She sits Hugo on her lap and he’s bouncy with joy, waving his arms in excitement to see his dad, and then shoves one of his hands into his mouth. Hermione and Harry start laughing at little Hugo. But the tears are falling hot and heavy down Ron’s face now, and the ache in his heart has built up so much; it feels like it could burst from the pain. His grip on his cane gets unbearably tight.

_Ginny really misses you, mate._

Harry takes off his glasses and starts routinely cleaning them like he did once he started getting old. He smiles at Ron and mouths, “Soon.”

_Why did Hogwarts show me this mirror?_

They both stare at Ron and shrug yet again. He pushes both his palms into his eye sockets, trying to wipe away the moisture.

He looks up and the sobs get greater when other loved ones poke their way into the mirror. His Mum and Dad, hugging, looking younger than he’s ever known them. Dad with a full head of hair, and Mum, not so plump and with fewer wrinkles.

George and Fred, both teenagers, are standing arm in arm. Fred seems to be marvelling at George's left ear, pulling it at odd angles, as if to check it was really on there.

_Little Freddie’s doing wonderfully at the shop._

The twins grin, and George is looking the happiest Ron’s possibly ever seen him.

_You're a great-granddad as well._

Fred pulls George into a tighter one-armed hug.

He looks around to see Bill and Fleur waving at him. Fleur, looking as beautiful as he had ever seen her, cheekily blows him a quick kiss and Bill, Bill got his wholesome, handsome face back.

Charlie was standing the other side of Fleur.

_We told you to retire, didn’t we?_

The family start to laugh and Ron can’t help it, a small laugh escapes him as well.

_Well I’m glad you found his death humorous._

They all just shrug with there laughter. He muses that it’s probably not such a big deal where they are, because at least they have each other.

He looks to Hermione again and notices a slightly older Hugo roving around her. Now aged 6 years old, hovering slowly on his toy broomstick. His first toy broomstick, the one he had bought him.

He remembers the ecstatic whoops of joy, the boundless bouncing up and down. Rose’s laughter and somewhat patronising look that a piece of wood and tailored hardened straw could bring so much happiness.

Hugo starts picking up speed and zooming around his family, which sends them again into hysterical laughter at the ginger blur his son had become.

They all eventually stop laughing and start staring at Ron again. He tried to stand, using his cane for leverage. He wants to get closer to them.

His mum walks over to Hugo and holds his hand and slowly drags him out of the Ron’s view, frantically waving and smiling at his father. His dad follows her back out of view casually smiling at Ron.

One by one they all leave, leave him again to be alone, apart from Hermione.

She gets up off the rocking chair and walks to the front of the mirror, so the only thing he could possibly see is her. Ron finally gets up of his comfy chair and starts walking towards the mirror.

She kisses the mirror, leaving an imprint of her lips on the surface.

Ron reaches up and puts his 3 middle fingers on the imprint, feeling the slightly warm surface. He sees his hands, old and haggard like his life.

She mouths the words he ached to hear again, and he finds himself wanting to give anything in the world to hear her voice again, hear her say "I love you". He crumples on his knees, and grips the stands of the mirror, his body racking with sobs.

_Please don’t leave me again._

He looks up to see her in a similar state, but she has to leave, she start's walking backwards, not taking her eyes off of him, until the darkness takes her.

\----

It was a good 10 minutes before he got off the floor again. His knees were sore and tired. He could here various relatives or Hogwarts staff calling his name, but it was his granddaughter who actually found him, striding through, so much like her mother.

“For an honourable guest of this holiday feast you’re not being bloody honourable.” She swipes her wand and send her wolfish patronus to someone, most likely his daughter

“Get invited to the celebration of Voldermort’s fall and you don’t even turn up for starters.”

“Elderly war hero perks,” he stated simply, not sure if he wanted to move from this space.

She walked towards him and grabbed his arm. If there was one thing he liked about Sarah, it was she didn’t take any stick, though with a family like ours, you learn not to fast.

“That Granddad, was 100 years ago, now come on, Aunt Rose is going spare and…”

She stopped and stared at the mirror in deep shock

“Dad?”

Ron placed his elderly hands on her shoulders, and tried to get her to move.

“Daddy!” She said, ache and desperation laced in her voice

Ron sighed and with a little pressure got her to move slightly.

“It’s not real, you know," Ron said, knowing the state he was in over the mirror not 30 minutes ago.

He steered her out of the room, and turned around to see it seal itself up.

“How long was I there?”

Sarah still had tears in her eyes and she was hiccupping through her answer.

“Roughly… an hour… or so.”

Ron nodded and was now being led to the great hall by her.

“Did you see him?”

“Your Dad, Hugo, yes, I dare say I saw a lot more people than you did, but I saw Hugo as my child, as my baby.”

“Oh,” she simply says.

“Does that mirror show the dead then?”

Ron looked down at her, scrutinizing his answer.

“Did you only see your father?”

She blushed, and looked to the floor quickly.

“No, it doesn’t show us the dead; it’s a mirror that shows us what we want, like our desires.”

“So, that wasn’t really my dad?”

“Nope, it was an illusion, a cruel one.”

Sarah stopped and looked up at her granddad.

“But you got to see Nan again, right?”

Ron didn’t answer; he just gripped his cane again and started walking. Trying to stop the tears from leaking from his eyes.


End file.
